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State Name: New Jersey
State Name underscore: New_Jersey
State Name dash: New-Jersey
State Name lower underscore: new_jersey
State Name lower dash: new-jersey
State Name lower: new jersey
State Abbreviation: NJ
State Abbreviation Lower: nj

MND NewsWire features plain and simple interpretations of industry related data and events written in a manner that maintains the interest of random readers while still catering to the perspective of a housing market professional.

At every real restate closing, the buyer is handed an inventory (a HUD-1 settlement
statement or its equivalent) of items for which he is being charged. It is probably
safe to say that few items on this long list of "closing costs"; elicit more questions
or concerns than the entry for lender's title insurance. (Note:
in some states, lenders title insurance is required to be paid by the seller.)

"What,"; the buyer often asks, "is this about? I just paid $800.00 for a homeowner's
policy, and $900 for flood insurance. Now I have to pay for title
insurance?";

Just to compound the confusion, at about this point in the closing, the escrow
agent usually asks if the buyer also wants to purchase owner's title insurance.
A stressful situation gets worse, and the agent usually scrambles to explain
a complicated issue to a wigged out buyer who is not in the mood to listen.

Almost all lenders require borrowers to purchase lender's title insurance as
a condition of a home mortgage. This protects the lender, up
to the value of the mortgage, against "defects"; in the title to the property;
those that existed before the transaction but might have been missed in the
title examination.

Most titles are thoroughly examined before any transfer of property and the
overwhelming number are clear or require only a slight tweak to make them so.
A title exam is not necessarily a legal requirement and you can probably
still buy a friend's home with a handshake and a check, then mosey over to the
courthouse and record the deed yourself. However, if a bank or mortgage company
is involved, there will be a title examination.

But title law is a very complex branch of the legal system.
Land ownership in this country goes back hundreds of years, and along the way
there may have been dozens of occasions when something could have occurred to
"cloud"; its ownership. Records were not always meticulously maintained, deeds
and claims were not always correctly recorded. Old land grants
and tribal claims still occasionally surface to cause problems
hundreds of years later.

For example, some landowners on Cape Cod (Massachusetts) were thrown into limbo
25 years ago when the Mashpee Indian Tribe asserted strong and credible claims
to ancient ancestral lands. It was many years before the resulting issues were
settled and the current owners had clear title again. During that period, selling
or re-mortgaging a piece of the clouded property was virtually impossible.

There are many more contemporaneous defects that can cloud a title.

An incomplete or incorrectly exercised foreclosure or tax taking;

Property rights that were not totally extinguished by a divorce or the
probate of an estate;

A seller revealed, even years later, to not have actually owned the
property. This may result from actual fraud or something as innocent as an expired
or improperly executed Power of Attorney, and happens way more often than one
might want to know;

Mistakes in recording (or failing to record) earlier documents, such
as wills or probate decisions;

Liens for unpaid work (mechanics liens) or for estate, income, or gift
taxes;

Adverse possession which occurs when someone has openly used a portion
of another's property (a path to the beach or an improperly positioned
fence) for a period of time without a challenge by the land owner.

Previously unnoticed rights-of-way or easements. These give a non-owner
(the city, a utility, a neighbor) the right to use a piece of a property. Cities
and utilities often demand or purchase easements to allow construction or repair
of utility or sewer lines. A neighbor may have a right-of-way to access a land-locked
parcel or construct a driveway.

Failure to extinguish a lender's rights. When a mortgage is sold
to another lender or paid off by the borrower, an assignment or a discharge
must be recorded transferring or canceling the mortgage. One of the real nightmares
of the 1980s/1990s banking crisis were the thousands of mortgages which failed
banks had not properly assigned. Without an assignment, the bank which held
the mortgage could not discharge it when it was paid. RTC and FDIC, as receivers
of those banks, often had no records of the old mortgages and could not know
if or to whom they had been sold or whether they had been paid. Clearing these
situations was both time consuming and expensive.

Not all of the above instances will be covered by title insurance.
First of all, there is usually a time limit (40 or 50 years prior to the current
closing is common) during which defects will be covered. Even with title insurance,
the folks on Cape Cod would still have been hanging out to dry when the Mashpee
Tribe asserted its two hundred year old claims. Policies almost always cover
problems that did not show up during the title examination, were missed by the
examiner, or resulted from errors in public records, but they may or may not
cover problems with easements, mineral, or air rights, or some liens. Be sure
to check the limits of your policy's liability.

But lenders, understandably, want to insure that as many as possible of these
potential title problems won't end up costing them money, and lenders
title insurance essentially guarantees that a title has been adequately examined
and, if problems should arise, the title company will cover the expense of clearing
the title or defending it in court. If title cannot be cleared, the bank will
be compensated for any loss it may incur if the property is seized or loses
market value.

Lender's policies do not, however, cover the buyer's share of home
ownership. As buyer, you will, whether you want to or not, pay for your lender's
peace of mind by buying this lender's policy. The option to insure your
own equity and peace of mind is up to you, but consider the following hypothetical
situation.

You purchase a property for $200,000 and mortgage it for $150,000, purchasing,
as required, a lender's title policy. Two years later, with the property now
valued at $225,000 and the mortgage paid down to $148,000, a long lost nephew
of the previous owner (who died childless) returns from searching for gold in
the Amazon and lays claim to his uncle's estate (which pretty much consists
of your house.) The only other heir, his brother, sold the house without benefit
of probate and is nowhere to be found. The nephew's claim can not be disputed
and the sale to you is invalidated. Your bank collects its $148,000 from the
title company. You lose the house and receive no compensation.

Far-fetched? Maybe not so. In any case, a risk worth avoiding.

Title insurance is a one-time expense and, while most people will never need
it, it is short money compared to the disasters it may prevent or mitigate.
While you will probably have to ante up another fee for lender's insurance
if you refinance, the owner's portion is good for as long as you own the
house. Owner's insurance on a $150,000 purchase is about $450.00, and
inflation protection can also be purchased.

This is not a bad deal.

Now, however, having given such a strong endorsement for owners' title
insurance, there must be full disclosure. Title insurance is an extremely competitive
business, and, for at least the third time in ten years, some title companies
have gotten just a little too aggressive, entering into some shady practices
to corner a share of the market.

Comments

So, is title insurance necessary on a brand new house in a brand new subdivison where the lot was part of the purchase price?

Steve

on

Who actually pays for line 1110. Is it the buyer ( new owner) or the seller? I think this part is more confusing.

Gwinn

on

What is to prevent buyer who was presented by lender, a title represented as clear and free of incumberance from simply litigating against the lender if any defect occurs? Buyer was clearly damaged by this misrepresentation in good faith and should be reimbursed for any financial damage. The title insurers are double selling coverage that the original lenders policy should encompass.

Andreas

on

Title insurance should never be required, neither for the lender nor for the owner. Think about it: What do we have local governments for? What do we pay recording fees to the deed's registrar for?

And by the way, why not get title insurance for vehicles? After all, how do you know the dealer hasn't sold your car to someone else?

Title insurance does not make any sense in a modern country.

Joseph

on

I agree with Andreas on title insurance not being required. What a scam this all is. What are we paying the title company and lawyer for? They should be doing their work properly and should absolutely be held accountable if they screwed up.

Rick in California

on

The Mafia wishes they would have thought up a scam as valuable as Title Insurance! Not only do they overcharge for their silly service (we can check the County Recorder's office in a few minutes) but then they charge us for what is really their MALPRACTICE Insurance!!!
And how in the h*** is their payout cost (insurance payouts) for "bad" title claims close to the billions they take in on premiums?!
The government should shut this scam business down and REFUND millions of homebuyers!

mike

on

Total Scam. States regulate Insurance companies usually by their profit/loss or loss ratio. A loss ratio is the percentage of claims paid out to the overall premiums taken in. If a REAL insurance company ever comes in under 100% (100% of premiums taken in paid in claims) they figure they've had a great year (they make money by investing premiums). No where can I find the title insurance loss ration. Scam scam scam.

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